Inside the New York Yankees clubhouse with MLB.com beat writer Bryan Hoch.

One night after triple play, Yanks & O’s back at it

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The triple play that the Yankees turned last night was, depending on who you talked to, a thing of beauty, an incredible rarity or a display of poor baserunning by the Orioles.

Actually, maybe it was all three. You just don’t see the old 4-6-5-6-5-3-4 very often — this was the first one in Major League history. It was the Yankees’ first triple play at home 1968, when they turned one at the old Yankee Stadium against the Twins (Dooley Womack to Bobby Cox to Mickey Mantle, hit by Johnny Roseboro). The Yankees also turned one back in 2010 at Oakland (Alex Rodriguez to Robinson Cano to Nick Johnson on a grounder hit by Kurt Suzuki).

Even Joe Girardi’s kids appreciated the rarity of last night’s events, the Yankees manager said.

“I haven’t looked at it on replay. I saw it live so I do remember what happened,” Girardi said. “It’s interesting. My kids commented on it. My son [Dante] said it was awesome when I got home and then my daughter [Lena] said something, my six year old: ‘The triple out was really cool, Dad.’ So, I thought that was kind of neat. They knew that it was a rare occurrence and you’re not going to see it every day.”

Phil Hughes and Jason Hammel are today’s starting pitchers for the 4:05 p.m. ET game between New York and Baltimore, the second game of a six-game homestand.

Can’t agree with you yankmeister keeping Hughes in the rotation sends the wrong message. I’d rather send Warren or Phelps to the mound every 5th day and keep sending Hughes. You keep sending Hughes out there you are looking at ineffective pitching every 5th start. I’ll take my chances with Warren or Phelps. Either that or I’d get Wang up there ASAP. Hughes has had his chances OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER again. He is NOT improving at all and hasn’t in three years. Enough. I do agree that the Yankees would get NOTHING for him which is why I would have cut him and Joba after last year. What I’d suggest Crashman to do is try and package these two to the Cubs for Garza. Chicago is trying to dump Garza and he’s 10X better in the AL East than these two.

Even though I think he has been inconsistent during his entire career, and like you doubt he will improve any more as a pitcher after being given so many chances, I think giving up on a pitcher who was tied for most victories on the team last season and wound up being tied for 6th in the AL last season in overall wins would be the wrong message. In all reality, Hughes wound up having a pretty good season despite being so inconsistent. He did finish 21st overall in the AL (not bad) and finished in the Top 20 in the AL in WHIP. He also allowed a .259 BA to opposing hitters, also not too bad. Hughes’s problem is that he is a fly ball pitcher and it reflects in HR’s he allowed giving up the second most in the AL last season. He’s gonna have to find a way to change that, but in the mean time, I doubt this team or any team would trade a pitcher who finished for team lead in victories while finishing in the Top10in the AL in the same category and go with two inexperienced unknowns who have done nothing in their careers and have very average stuff. That would be setting yourself up for failure.

I would love together Garza, but it will. Take. More than Warren and Phelps,most likely a top prospect would have to be included in that type of trade, but. It will take more than Garza to turn this team around.

Good luck trading a pitcher who is struggling as badly as Hughes. Most likely the Yanks won’t get anything for him, if they do it will be for a fringe prospect who is years away from being major league ready, that’s if he ever gets close to being major league ready, but then that’s what you get for a pitcher who is a bust. With that being said, it’s not likely that Phelps or Warren are any better than Hughes. Both have very average stuff and have been very hit table themselves throughout their pro careers. In fact, Warren was even as inconsistent thanHughes inform ore. Adding two unknowns like that who have done nothing in their careers most likely would be a huge mistake. Neither of them look any better than aNo5starter. This is just a reflection of a lack of talent the Yanks have throughout the organization.

I can’t remember two bigger pitching BUSTS in current NY Yankee history then Hughes and Joba. Bigger question is when the HELL is management going to figure it out. And when they do why the HELL did it take them so long????

robert G. everything you say is correct. I’ve been saying it for 3 years. Hughes is a BUST, overrated as a starter and needs to be either exiled to the pen or preferably CUT. I’d have Warren and Phelps in the starting rotation over Nova or Hughes. Don’t know who Phil Hughes convinced a few years ago that he was something special but he’s a bad excuse as a Yankee starter. Enough!!!!

well, 3 runs is not enough offense but Hughes didn’t give the team a chance with 5 runs and 3 home runs in the first 3 1/2 innings. It was a typical Hughes outing and hopefully we’ve seen the last of them. He needs to go somewhere else and become another team’s project. Nunez going out early didn’t help because Nix was bad at the plate today. If Nunez is going to stand so close to the plate someone has to show him how to get out of the way of the ball faster rather than lean into it or he’s not going to be much help until Jeter gets back.

I wonder who should have started today, Hughes or Phelps? No contest. I hope that’s the last we see of Hughes in the starting rotation, but we said that all last year and they kept putting him in no matter how inconsistent he was. Has this guy got a no trade clause or something in his contract? Seeknay, how much have we said this about the two Yankee experiments, Hughes and Chamberlain? When will it stop?

I would hope this is the last game for Hughes as starter this year. How many more times do we have to see this? 3 home runs and then a double and we’re behind 5-2 in the 3rd inning. This guy just cannot pitch and I don’t know what Girardi and Cashman see that I don’t. We have gone through this for far too long. Bull pen at worst. Trade at best.

Why do we have to continue to put up with Hughes in the rotation? Except for 1 year Hughes has been inconsistent and unreliable for the rest and again this year. 2 home runs in a couple of innings. Typical Hughes pitching. He gives up way too many home runs. He’s too hittable. Do we have to endure this for another year? Time to trade him. In fact it’s overtime. And why is he pitching today anyway instead of Kuroda? It’s Kuroda’s turn in the rotation after CC. Somehow Girardi and Cashman see something in Hughes no one else sees.

Back in time

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